Nearly 1 in 3 on Medicare got commonly abused opioids

CHICAGO (AP) - Nearly 12 million Medicare beneficiaries received at least one prescription for an opioid painkiller last year at a cost of $4.1 billion, according to a federal report that shows how common the addictive drugs are in many older Americans' medicine cabinets.

With an overdose epidemic worsening, nearly one-third of Medicare beneficiaries received at least one prescription for commonly abused opioids such as OxyContin and fentanyl in 2015.

Nearly 1 in 3 on Medicare got commonly abused opioids